Of Rocks and Hard Places
by JillyDriz
Summary: He lifted a hand to tap her cheek lightly."Red. One of my favorite colors. It looks good on you." Elena opened her mouth to reply but couldn't find any words. Damon too, remained strangely quiet as he moved his mouth fractions closer to hers...D/E
1. Chapter 1

A.N: This story takes place after Ep.14 Fool Me Once (The Tomb episode) I will be referencing a few actualities from the show, but for the most part will be taking my story the way I want it to go. Also, if I get small details wrong about the show (who said what /when things happened etc...) please don't Harp on me. It's only a story based off of shows I've seen once. Cut a girl some slack! It will be Damon/ Elena for sure. I'm not Stephan McBroodypants' biggest fan. Enjoy and I am open for suggestions!

Chapter 1

Amber colored liquid splashed into the bottom of a crystal cut glass, and was observed for a slight second by peircing blue eyes before being quickly swallowed without even a wince. Damon poured himself another shot of scotch and repeated the action, dropping his head into his hand. He was alone in the dark living room of the Salvatore house, the wind blowing through the open windows making the heavy curtains billow slowly. Placing the glass heavily on the end table beside him, he picked up the old portrait of his lover and maker Katherine. Her dark eyes stared at him from the tattered old photo and the slight smile on her face seemed to mock him rather than comfort him as it had before. Anna's words kept echoing through his mind, creating sharp pains like fiberglass shards. Just as you forget that it's there, a new pain comes shooting back to remind you how miserable you are. "_Last time I saw her she was in Chicago. It was the 80's. She knew where you were Damon, she didn't care."_

A disgusted laugh bubbled up as his grip on the photo tightened. Nearly one hundred and fifty years. Well over a century of bullshit for a bitch that didn't even care where he was. It turns out he was another toy all along. A nice shiny new plaything for a spoiled little girl who loved new toys. And the worst part of that is that once you get a new toy, you gain an old one. And apparently old toys just aren't worth it. As a vampire, he had enjoyed the perks of being able to turn off the emotions that make human life so...complicated. But not with her. He had always kept that part of himself alive, so to speak. She was the one thing that kept him from going completely to 'the dark side' as many people would put it these days. Hell, without her, he hadn't even wanted this life. Even as an undead creature such as a Vampire, re-death was far from impossible. But he kept going. Kept going for her, under the hope and assumption that when he found her they would be together. Forever. Just like the plan had always been.

A knock and the distinctive creak of the front door opening shook him out of his thoughts. A soft voice calling out made the sad smirk on his face disappear. This was so not what he needed right now. Elena was coming closer calling out for Stephan. Taking a deep breath, Damon put on his trademark nonchalant look of arrogance and fun and fancy free. Crossing the room quickly, he stepped out into the receiving hallway, stopping right in front of the girl. Elena gasped in fear and stepped back a few paces before she recognized the amused glint and self satisfied smile cross the dark face of the older brother Salvatore. With a frustrated exhale, she punched Damon in the shoulder. "Don't _do_ that Damon! I like my heart to keep beating and when you do that...that fast freaky moving vampire thing it really doesn't help!"

"And hello to you too, Elena," he replied with a handsome smile. "And to what do I owe this late night visit?" Suddenly his eyes widened then narrowed as he leaned into her staring directly into her eyes before whispering in her ear. "Is this a booty call? Because I don't think Stephan..." Elena cut him off with another punch to his shoulder.

"You are revolting. Where is Stephan?"

"Ah yes. Speaking of revolting. He's out scavenging the forest floor for furry things that scurry. Shouldn't that make you sad? Because you've totally got that whole Snow White thing down pact, let me tell you."

Elena rolled her eyes and pushed past Damon, walking into the living room. "Well then it looks like I'm going to have to sacrifice a few of my forest friends because I'm actually here at the moment to talk to yo-..." Her sentance was cut off when she saw Katherine's portrait on the table next to a snifter of scotch with a glass poured at the ready. "Damon..." she breathed out sympathetically.

A low quiet growl of frustration erupted from his throat as he quickly thought of a way to hide his personal moment of weakness. Tucking his hands into his back pockets, Damon sauntered into the room after Elena, coming upon the side table and picking up the glass. "You are so right Elena, how rude of me. Would you like a drink?"

"No, Damon I would not...Listen, I really think we should talk about this..."

"Talk about what? You said you don't want a drink, but personally I think you'd be much more fun if you had one. I seem to recall a whole other side to you in Georgia that's just dying to come out again." He sent this quip with a sly smile that had worked on getting females to drop subjects in the past. Honestly, he really didn't want to deal with 'Katherine 2.0: Mother Theresa edition' right now. His smile faded as she picked up the portrait and studied it.

"Look, I know you loved her. Very much. And I know that a lot of what you've done with your life has been to bring her back. But Damon, you heard Anna. She's not the same person she was. And I'm not sure that the person she was, was someone you deserved..."

Damon's face remained stone cold, but his fingers tightened oh so slightly on his glass. "Elena..." he warned, but she ignored him. "No, I'm worried about you. I realize I didn't know her and other than my looks I have absolutely no tie to her at all but the way you've been acting worries me. I just...I just want you to know that I am here for you, and if you ever want to talk, I will listen."

Damon stared coldly into her eyes for a few moments before setting the now empty glass back down. Walking up to her, he stopped only a foot away before snatching the photo out of her hands and tossing it on the ground. "You know what? You're right Elena. You didn't know her. You _don't_ know her. You don't know the whole damn situation! So I find it very bold of you that you think you can stride in here and think that you can play vampire therapist. As to my behavior that you and your boyfriend think is so self-destructive, that's just me Doll. I drink, I party, I take sexual advantage of girls who pass my very in depth appearance criteria, and most importantly, I feed quite indiscriminately on humans..."

At this point Damon had backed an increasingly frightened Elena against a wall, bracing his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. "And I haven't been given a reason to do all that until now. So, what should worry you is how long it's going to take me to become even worse than I am now. Because Snow White, I am not the knight in shining armor of this story. That's why you have the ever gallant Stephan. So you can stop the cheerleader pep talks and leave me to the devices I chose long before you came along. Do. You. Understand?" His face was now an inch away from hers, and he could hear her erratic heartbeat caused by a strong cocktail of fear, and close proximity of their situation. Sure she may be dating his brother, but he'd yet to see a female who could completely resist him. With the exception of some lesbians in the 90's who were very, very secure in their sexuality.

He watched as Elena's mouth opened just slightly and her tongue peeked out to moisten her bottom lip. Then, her chin lifted ever so slightly and her mouth formed a single word. "No." Damon's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head. "I beg your pardon?"

Elena stared him straight in the eye and repeated herself. "No. I don't believe you are that person. Well...I do, I've seen it. However I've also seen something else in you. Something good, Damon, and even if it's only been for fleeting seconds at a time I know I've seen it! I won't give up on that, I won't. So don't you play this game with me, I'm not some dumb trollop." She continued to stare him down, neither one of their expressions changing. Elena became increasingly aware of how close his face was to hers and felt the heat rushing to her face. Being aware of it only made her blush deepens, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to break her gaze.

Damon noticed however, and another one of his trademark smirks crossed his dark features. He lifted a hand to tap her cheek lightly. "Red. One of my favorite colors. It looks good on you." Elena opened her mouth to reply but couldn't find any words. Damon too, remained strangely quiet as he moved his mouth fractions closer to hers.

Suddenly, they heard the door open, breaking them both out of their mini trance. Elena eyes widened and for the first time tried to escape the Damon cage that she had been backed into. Damon however placed both hands on her shoulders, holding her effectively in place. "I wouldn't try this again, Elena. Consider it a warning." With that, he was gone speeding out of the living room to appear at Stephan's side. "Hello brother. Your girlfriends here. I've been keeping her company, You're welcome." He said with a wink before bounding up the stairs. Stephan shot him a look before turning into the living room to find Elena with a slightly out of place look on her face. "Hey," he said, walking up to her and taking her hand. "You ok?" She looked into his comforting eyes and smiled softly. "Yeah. I think so."

---Short, but sets the tone! Seconds should be up soon! (ish!) Also, thanks to kind reviewer Bellarase for bringing the format to my attention! Its much better now.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- All rights and characters of Vampire Diaries belong to Fox.

Chapter 2

Lying on her stomach with her feet raised up in the air, Elena nibbled the end of an eraser as she stared at the numbers and geometric shapes drawn out on the notebook before her. Her brow was furrowed in frustrated concentration as she erased another set of equations that just wouldn't work themselves out. Taking a deep breath and holding it a second before blowing it out, she circled her head around causing snaps and pops from her neck that helped relieve some of the tension from her shoulders. With a sigh, she glanced out the window noticing the growing fog in the night sky. She could hear a crow call out in the background as she smiled and reached behind the painting above her bed for her diary. It was about time she took a break anyway.

'_Dear Diary,_

_ Nothing much to report today. This math homework is killing me, and it's another foggy night in Mystic Falls. It seems appropriate that a town with a name such as ours should receive fog as often as Seattle gets rain. Stephan came over for dinner. I don't care how long we've been together, it still just seems off for me to sit there and watch him eat garlic bread with my family. Thank you Hollywood for yet another misconstrued reality. I haven't spoken with Damon since our confrontation in the living room. Stephan says I should just let it go. I know I should listen, he would know best with that whole brother situation and all...but I just know I'm right. There's something still there. Just because you burn a log doesn't mean it goes away. It just changes...'_

"Dear Diary, today I spent a whoooole hour staring into my dreamy vampire boyfriend's face. It was the best day ever."

Elena gasped and whipped her head up to find a very cocky looking Damon leaning against her open window frame. Slamming her diary shut, she turned to him, frowning deeply. "Damon, what are you doing here? Isn't there a bar somewhere filled with women with questionable morals you could be annoying at the moment?"

Chuckling without any sense of real humor in the tone, Damon clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Tsk Tsk, Elena. You should know by now my reputation. These 'women of questionable morals' have called me many, many things but annoying has never been among their vocabulary. Amazing, incredible, sex God, and many other positive adjectives have been used on several occasions however."

Rolling her eyes and making a disgusted sound Elena chucked one of her pillows at him from her spot on the bed, which he easily caught. "Go away Damon, I am trying to do my homework. Also, you still haven't told you why you're here in the first place.

Tossing the pillow back at her, he began to wander around the room, picking things up and examining them as he went along. There was really no purpose to this; he just wanted to see how long it would take for her to get annoyed with his actions. "I'm hurt. You were the one who wanted me to be more open with you. Talk about my _feelings_ and whatnot. But now you've wounded my pride. And that cut hurts the most young lady." He continued poking around and tossed smirk over his shoulder at her. "Besides, you know what they say. Don't knock it till you try it."

Elena rolled her eyes again. "Wow. You have to be the most conceited man I have ever met in my whole life you know that? Now stop touching my things." With that, she picked up her pencil and dragged her books and notepads back onto her lap hoping he would get the point that she was working and wanted to be left alone. She was having so such luck, however.

"Oh come on, Elena. You mean to tell me that you've never once, not even a little bit, wondered what I would be like compared to Stephan? You've never considered the fact that I'm older, wiser, and quite undeniably more bad-ass than he is?"

"Nope. I'm not really into the whole cougar thing, thank you. Why are you still here again?"

"Well, I wasn't quite sure of that myself until just this moment. Now tell me. What's a nice innocent girl like you doing with such _morally_ _questionable_ undergarments such as these?"

Once again, Elena's head snapped up and her eyes widened in horror, embarrassment and anger as she laid eyes on Damon holing up one of her racier red lace bras that Caroline had talked her into buying once she got over her jealousy of not being able to nab Stephan. She had only worn it a few times. She thought that the only person who would ever see it was Stephan himself, and not even he'd seen it yet. She hadn't mustered up the courage. She stormed off the bed, sending books flying as anger flashed in her eyes. "Damon Salvatore, you put that down right now. You have absolutely no right to go through my things like this!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Damon stood his ground. "Really? I believed you were the one who invited me into this house. This is in the house. Basic theory of logic will suggest that you yourself invited me to this lovely little bit of lace here. Man, I bet you look hot in this. Bet it just drives my brother crazy right?"

"Damon, I'm warning you..."

"Elena Gilbert, are you threatening me?

"Yes! Put them down now!"

That was the push that he had been waiting for. She was just mere inches away from him now, fists rolled into tight little balls and cheeks flushed red with anger. Dropping the bra, he reached out and grabbed her wrists, pulling her in close to his body. She struggled wildly and tried to pull away, but even she knew it was no use. The only way she was getting out of his grip was if he decided to let her go. Bringing his mouth down to her ear, he began to talk to her in a low, hot voice.

"You're not wearing your very special necklace, Elena. Did you realize that?" He could hear her little gasp of fright and felt her heartbeat elevate as her head twisted around to the bathroom door. She had taken a shower earlier and must have forgotten to put it back on. Stupid. Stupid, stupid stupid. Damon brought her face back around with the guidance of two of his fingers, and even with the loss of one of his arms around her, she still had no chance of escaping his superhuman grip. He continued to guide her face gently until she was forced to stare directly into his icy blue eyes.

"You know what that means, right? I can make you my own personal puppet. I could make you pick up that pretty little piece down there and have you put it on, smile and call me master if I wanted." He smiled at the image and small clip that came to mind.

Elena's eyes narrowed into slits and her mouth was stretched into a thin line. "You wouldn't dare..."

Damon's eyes went wide and an 'oh really' look crossed his face. "You think so? Because I'm not convinced I won't. I told you the other day, I am not the night and shining armor. I'm not the good guy. I take what I want when I want it. And because I know you're such a stubborn little thing, I felt as if a hand on learning experience might do you some good. I know what you were writing in that silly little book of yours. And if this is what its going to take to make you realize that I don't have a side of me that's made out of cotton candy and rainbow sparkles, then that's exactly what I'm going to do."

With that, Damon stared into her eyes for just a second more, and slowly brought his mouth closer to hers, listening to her heart speed up faster and faster with every centimeter he got closer. He stopped just a hair's breadth away from closing in and he could tell that she had all but stopped breathing. He didn't move then, just stood absolutely still. Waiting.

Finally, with just the smallest sound of frustration, she closed the space between them and pressed her lips to his, and the game was on. Letting go of her wrists, Damon buried his hands in her hair and attacked her mouth. He ran is tongue over her bottom lip, once, twice, until she gave in and opened her mouth to his. He began to back her up towards the bed until the back of her knees hit the mattress and she started to tumble. Using his supernatural speed, he flipped them over so Elena was lying on top of him, and used his hands to angle her head to deepen their kiss.

Elena ran her hands up his chest, then back down and snuck her hand underneath his shirt. She heard him suck in his breath at the contact and slipped his grip from her head down to her hips, pressing her down onto his growing arousal. She gasped and dug her fingers into his chest, trying to find something to hold onto. Her hips began to rock against his steadily, and she could feel the effect it had on him getting harder by the second.

Damon's hand began a slow climb up her body. It slid sexily up the curve of her hip, to the indent of her waist, getting higher and higher until he reached her breasts. Testing the waters, he inched his hand over until his hand covered the soft mound. A tiny moan slipped from Elena's lips, causing him to take the game to the next level. He quickly shifted both hands back down her body and gripped her hips once more, flipping them over again so he was on top once more. He looked down at her, with her swollen lips and frantic eyes. She was certainly a sight to see. She tried to raise her hands up to touch him again, but he took hold of both her wrists and slammed them back down on the bed.

"Don't move these. Don't move anything. This isn't about you right now." There was a heat in his voice that made Elena widen her eyes and shut her mouth quickly, simply nodding in subservient agreement. Damon smiled darkly and brought his mouth down to nip her earlobe sending a shiver down her spine that intensified when he ran his tongue along the outer shell of her ear and whispered "Good girl."

He began to kiss a trail down her neck, covering every spot possible to find the ones that made her blow out her breath and writhe under his instructions not to move. He found the area just above the collarbone where her pulse was beating erratically and scraped it with his teeth, which in turn awarded him with her back arching off the bed. Her hands were twisted in the sheets tightly, trying desperately not to grab him and force him to kiss her again. She was not the lay and do nothing sort of girl. But Damon had made it very clear that he was to be obeyed.

Meanwhile, Damon was continuing his exploration of her neck with his lips while one hand crept down to slide underneath her shirt tracing a small pattern around her bellybutton before continuing upwards, dragging her tank top with it, and exposing skin as he went along. Her bra came into view, a pale pink thing that had almost nothing in common with the scrap of red lace that was now lying on the floor. He traced the very outside edge of it with his finger, ever so lightly touching her skin and causing goose bumps to form all over her body. Her hips were moving wildly, trying to find release for the tension that was building. He hooked one finger into the cup of her bra while his other hand slid down to the top of her pajama pants dipping in just slightly to make Elena's want ever more severe. He then slid the cup of her bra out of the way so that her breast was exposed, the nipple already puckered from the attention her body was receiving. Detaching his mouth from her neck, he shifted so it was hovered just above the tip of her breast and once again just waited.

Elena's eyes were squeezed shut, but she could feel Damon's mouth poised just above the place she wanted it to be. She moaned heavily and opened her eyes to find his clear blue ones staring directly at her, as if he had been waiting for her.

"Damon, what are you waiting for..." her words were breathy even to her.

"I want you to do something for me," he said, flicking his finger across the pert tip of her nipple, gaining another gasp and a slight arch.

"What?"

"I want you to tell me that you want this." The fingers in the waistband of her pants crept lower, to the very top of her underwear.

Elena head was becoming cloudy and she was having trouble focusing. "What?" she said again.

"I know you heard me. Don't make me repeat myself." His fingers, still outside of her underwear to her great disappointment; were now just above the source of all of her frustration, just barely touching, but drawing circles around her clitoris. A touch so slight that anywhere else it may have gone unnoticed. Just enough to make her finally lose control. To seal the deal, he mimicked the flick of his finger over her nipple with his tongue, then pulled the whole thing into his mouth, sucking hard. It worked. Elena cried out at the overload of sensation he was creating and gave in.

"Damon! Yes, I want this!"

At that Damon pulled away completely, lifting himself off of her and the bed. It was so fast she didn't even know what happened. She shot upright and saw him leaning against the window frame again, just like when he first arrived. "Damon...what are yo-"

He held his hand up to signal her to stop talking.

"This was your lesson Elena. Would you like to know the most fascinating piece of information?"

At her silence, he smirked and began pacing in front of the window. "I didn't compel you. Not in the slightest."

Elena felt like she had been hit with a brick. Her mouth fell open in shock before closing and settling into a stubborn scowl. "You are lying. I wouldn't know if you did or not." Her response was met with a low chuckle.

"I thought you might say that. And there's nothing I can say to convince you otherwise. Except, don't you think it would have been much more fun for me to go forward with this little game we were playing rather than tear myself off you so I can play preacher of the righteous and good? I don't think so Elena. Admit it. You wanted me."

Elena's face didn't change, but she felt her heart sink. He was right. There was no way that Damon would have stopped if he didn't have something to prove.

"You were the one that wanted me to be a good person Elena. Whether or not you want to believe it, I'm telling you the scouts honor truth. That's what 'good people' do right?" He turned and opened the window to leave, stepping up onto the ledge before pausing and looking back over his shoulder.

"Oh and one more little lesson. Next time you want me to open up and talk about my feelings about the people I love or have loved in my life, why don't you make sure you've got yours figured out." And with that, he climbed out the window into the darkness of the night.

Elena sat in silence for a few minutes before a tear welled up in her eye and she slammed her fists hard into a pillow. "Damn you, Damon!"

Her eyes snapping open, she sat up in bed with the curse dying on her lips. She looked around frantically and noticed the books from her homework all in their original places. Her diary was on her lap and her window was closed. She quickly looked to the floor to find the red bra missing. In fact, nothing looked different, and a glance out the window told her it was morning, the sun was rising.. She slowly began to put two and two together. "It was a dream..." she said quietly to herself. "It was all just a dream." She must have fallen asleep while writing in her diary.

Even as relief washed over her in waves, she couldn't make all of her bad feelings go away. The dream had planted a bad seed in her mind, and if she didn't take care of that soon, it would soon grow into a giant tree that would produce nothing but bad fruit. Her mind began to wander back to the dream's events and she blushed, and felt herself get turned on again just a little bit. That hit her in a bad way and she shook her head. No. No, she was not Katherine. She barely even liked Damon. She was in love with Stephan. Stephan.

Climbing out of bed, and filling her mind with thoughts of her boyfriend, she began to get ready for school. She would see Stephan soon. And everything would be ok.

A.N- Come on now. There's no such thing as satisfaction this early in a story. Nonono. You'll all just have to wait your turn. Hope you all liked this! (and that the whole 'it was a dream thing' wasn't to awfully confusing!)


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